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Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Our new London “studio” is set up. We went on air straight away on the next day counting in 22-second-delay that means I had to start speaking 22 seconds before the program starts. And it worked as it worked yesterday and today. It makes you think: technology has lessened our hassle so vividly that you don’t know to laugh or to cry. The feeling that you have missed the bit where the impossible became possible depresses you. How come a radio station is run just by a laptop and a bunch of wires? This bunch of wires seemed just a useless bunch of wires yesterday. But now it does a miracle and connects you from your comfortable chair in your flat to the world. Just push a button and say: “Dorud! This is London! Radio Zamaneh!” what I’m doing these days. It’s been made possible by one of the whales of the radio station (I’ve told you about him earlier: Setareh). So, now I got a new routine in London: getting up earlier in the morning, tuning to different channels, gathering different information, writing them down in Persian, looking for a guest to attend our live program in our brand new studio… and of course, looking for a long term accommodation in the hope to stay here and work from London.

Friday, January 12, 2007

Global warming is more sensed than ever: the weather has gone mad and doing awesome tricks. Yesterday on the way to work the sight of a huge wind-stricken bush on the main road to Linneausstraat slackened my heartbeat. Ironically there was another cut and dropped bushy branch of an old tree just by the office building to frighten me on my way back home. Although there is no sign of snow yet, while the moaning Dutch say, it used to be much colder and snowy in past Decembers and Januaries. God save the Earth!

The European Union has ringed the bell again by unveiling a new plan to tackle the problem. But how much hope does it give you? Don’t you think they’ve waken up a bit too late? Maybe not. The European countries as the only sensible locomotive of the modern civilization have been warning the world about the deadly consequences of the global warming since the first signs of it became vivid. We still remember something called “the Kyoto Protocol” on global warming that unfortunately has been forgotten due to inhumane sabotage of powers like the US. While the Protocol was ratified by the EU in March 2002 and by Russia in 2004, the US and Australia did not like the idea and remained out of it. The Russian ratification brought the treaty into force commencing on 16 February 2005, however, some of its huge signatories, like India and China are not required to reduce their greenhouse emissions. America’s stance is somewhat ridiculous: it has signed the protocol, but doesn’t dare to ratify it or withdraw from it. Bush thinks the exemption granted to China is not fair and that’s why prefers to die in a global pan rather than signing under the treaty. And even today there was a report about “the US still in denial over global warming”. Even Katrina didn’t help them realize the seriousness of the situation. China considers it just a sign of heinous jealousy and says, Beijing is already contributing to the world environment by undertaking “population control measures”.

Alas, by the time these bogey arson mug states succeed to solve their differences, the world will turn into a boiling mug.